Cat and Mouse - Part I

Iain Goddard’s eyes stared at the monitors in front of him as the surveillance cameras switched from view to view. The Scotland Yard inspector looked worn; his shirt was open and tie askew; he removed his glasses and tiredly rubbed his eyes.

“Come on … come on … I know you’re close, Reynard. Make your move and prove me right…”


The Chief Inspector muttered to himself. His voice was a low, sexy tenor with a not-so-faint Highland burr.

He heard the door open behind him and smelled fresh coffee.

“Well, it’s about time you’ve come back, Paul… you’ve been gone for a fucking…”

He spun around and the sarcastic remark died in his throat. “… long time…”

Alec Reynard stood in the video room, an easy smile on his handsome mien. He placed a tray of coffee and a bag of pastries on the table near the door.

“You know, Iain … you work Sergeant Montgomery far too hard. Now you send him out on a coffee run … after all the harried preparations on this ... entrapment ... the poor man is exhausted and takes a moment to rest. Next thing you know, he’s out cold, catching some zzzz's before you send him out again.”

“What did you do to him, Reynard?” Goddard glared at the other man.

“Please ... it's Alec. We're far too intimate with each other's business to be on a last name basis. Now, as far as Paul Montgomery goes - nothing permanent, of course. Your aide-de-camp will just have had a very pleasant and needed nap of about 30-45 minutes and will wake up feeling refreshed and absolutely chagrined. I’ve never hurt a law enforcement officer in my life, Inspector. I owe them far too much."

He took a sip of his own coffee. “You should know that. You’re quite determined at uncovering my secrets – a talent which is virtually unheard of …” Reynard paused. “As I am with yours.” 

Alec ignored the tension in the room and placed a coffee cup in front of the Interpol chief; then sat down across from the handsome Scot. He was wearing a police uniform this time. Snug dark pants covered his powerful legs and the tunic pulled tightly over his muscular chest. A faint, sharply cut beard looked like a stylized five o'clock shadow on his square jaw and raven black hair tumbled over his forehead. Reynard watched the Inspector's eyes give him a once-over and paused at the substantial bulge at his crotch; Goddard reddened as he realized what he had done.

Again that shy, but confident grin. Goddard shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The man whom he thought to be his nemesis was nothing like he had anticipated. And everything he wanted.

“What I want to know …” the ginger-haired inspector began as sipped the coffee. “… is why are you in here - and not out there – stealing the DaVinci folio?” He stared hard into the brilliant blue eyes and soft smile across from him as he sipped the deliciously hot liquid. Goddammit, I should be yelling for backup and all I want to do is hold him in my arms. He even knows how I like my blasted coffee.

Alec laughed. “Oh, you were right about  the codex  - it was irresistible. One, duplicating Leonardo’s work is an effort – even for me – and two, you threw down the gauntlet with all of those safeguards to prevent me from grabbing it – that was a challenge I couldn’t resist... but why would I want to steal THAT? It's worthless.”

He casually waved to the surveillance image on the monitor – the 14th century manuscript lay in a heavy glass case. His dark brows arched as his entire face lit up with an impish grin.

Goddard grew still as a pit formed in his stomach. Reynard opened the bag and took out a danish. He winked at the other man in the room.

“Have one – these are really good. Still warm, too.”

“I’ve had the folio under guard every bloody minute since it was moved from the British Museum…”

Alec nodded. “Of course you did..."

He paused as he munched on a danish, slowly licking a bit of frosting off his upper lip.

"Well, almost..."

Goddard grew white.

“...except when it was locked in the cargo hold and the plane was up in the air... Iain, it was easy to open the crate and swap the codex with my copy. Me, my forgery and my breathing gear were in another cargo container. It was simple. Sometimes hiding something in plain sight works both ways.”

Reynard took another sip of coffee.

“When the forgery is discovered, there’s an eighty percent chance that your superiors will believe you had a hand in it and a twenty percent chance that you will simply be deemed supremely arrogant and grossly incompetent. In any case, your days in Interpol and Scotland Yard – or any other law enforcement agency – are over. Besides, your not-inconsiderable talents are wasted in police work anyway.”

With a cry of rage, the inspector launched himself at the art forger. All of the frustration of the previous months erupted as he saw his quarry slipping through the traps he had set and being maneuvered into destroying his own career. Goddard found himself captive in the iron grip of his enemy; their faces inches apart. The handsome criminal wasn’t even breathing hard, despite the herculean effort the Goddard was expending to attack him. And Goddard was a very strong man.

“Ahhh ... I love it when you get angry…” With an amazing fluid grace, the thief stood easily, still immobilizing the inspector, and walked  him backwards and back in his seat. He straddled the muscled body beneath him and the chair squeaked in protest as he settled his weight onto the other man. He drew closer to him and ran his lips across the ginger stubble covering the chiseled jaw.

“… you turn such a delicate shade of pink.” Alec whispered huskily in his ear and gave the whorls a delicate lick. Goddard stopped struggling and stared incredulously into the glacier blue eyes. The forger’s lips touched the other’s in a soft kiss. “I’ve enjoyed every minute of our cat-and-mouse through Europe, Iain, but the time has come to get serious with the man I’ve fallen in  love with.”

Azure eyes met pale brown. Alec released Goddard  and held the Chief Inspector’s face in his hands. Their lips met again; this time the kiss was harder and more intense. Tongues dueled for mastery as the Inspector’s hands encircled the thief’s muscular waist as their passion spiraled higher and higher. Goddard found his manhood growing hard within the confines of suddenly tight trousers as Reynard's crotch ground against his own.

Out of breath, the two men broke for air. Goddard let out a shaky laugh.

“Oh, bloody fuck, Alec… how did you know? I have to keep that part of my life so deeply hidden from everyone because it's a job-killer. I could barely admit it to myself. The more I chased you, the more I wanted you. You've more brains and sheer inventiveness than the entire damned Interpol organization put together.”

Reynard straightened up. “Well, the feeling was mutual. There’s not many men that would have the determination and intellect to find me after all the roadblocks I put in your way. Your refusal to drop the investigations was finally making some heads turn in an awkward direction for me and mine. That was attention I didn't need. Not yours personally, of course.” He ran his fingers through the short auburn hair. Goddard shivered.

The Scot stroked the powerful back of the man in his lap. Alec trembled at the delicate touch.

"Of course." Iain drawled. Alec gave him another kiss before easing out of the inspector's lap. He then pulled out a smartphone and tapped some commands into the device. He motioned to the display.

"Watch."

Goddard turned around to see a heavy fixture smash into the glass case on the monitor. He could hear the alarms howling faintly through the heavy walls as he watched a SWAT team enter the view of the cameras and swarm around the exhibit like angry wasps. Shattered glass lay everywhere and the room was bathed in the actinic glare from the halogens switched on by the alarm. Alec then tucked a card into the inspector's shirt pocket.

"Call that number when everything has quieted down for you. I have people that I want you to meet. Among them, with any luck, your new boss as well." Alec brushed his lips against the other man's, then softly traced around them with two fingers.  "Each kiss tells a story, Iain - that one means, goodbye - if only for a little while." Then he opened the door and slipped into the pandemonium exploding in the corridor.

* * *

Well, it's been a while,  and I figured I'd release the first installment of this tale. Alec Renard - aka Alec Saldana - has now graduated from Lucio's soldieri training and has become a preeminent cat burglar, art forger and con man. Of course, his nemesis has to be someone equally accomplished.

Enter Iain Goddard. The youngest Scotland Yard chief inspector with a Colombo-like talent for solving the most inexplicable of crimes. I'm working on the rest of the story, but it's slow going. I haven't been really in the mood for writing lately, and I'd rather not put out something substandard.

Stay tuned!!!